College and Research Libraries CHARLES H. STEVENS, MARIE P. CANFIELD, JEFFREY J. GARDNER Library Pathfinders: A New Possibility for Cooperative Reference Service Library cooperation in reference services has been limi.ted and largely unstructured. Library Pathfinders offer the opportunity to share ref- erence methodology in an organized, nationwide manner. Intended to introduce library users to the variety of information sources available in research libraries, Pathfinders have been published in a wide range of disciplines. At M.I.T.'s Barker Engineering Library, they have proven to be effective time-savers for both library users and profes- sional staff. The authors describe Pathfinders in detail and indicate how these reference aids can provide improved user service and in- struction. I N THE CURRENT PERIOD of budget re- ductions that threaten the successful op- eration of research libraries there are signs of hope for the future in the emergence of a new emphasis on library networks and on improved interlibrary cooperation. If cooperative operations can rescue the libraries from deteriora- tion of services that would result from budget cuts, then the time is right to study and evaluate new or improved methods of unified action that promise improved service at low cost. Mr. Charles H. Stevens is executive di- rector of the National Commission on Li- braries and Information Science. Prior to January 1, 1972 he was associate director for Library Development of Profect I ntrex and director of the Model Library Profect. Miss Marie P. Canfield is a staff member of the Model Library Profect with mafor re- sponsibility for Pathfinder development. Mr. Jeffrey J. Gardner has been a staff member of the Model Library Profect since 1969 and director since January 1, 1972. Library Pathfinders have been developed under a grant from the Council on Library Resources, Incorporated. 40/ Although many forms of cooperation exist, a review of library activities shows that few have concentrated on refer- ence work. In fact, no notice appears in the literature of a system for sharing the methodology for identical or similar literature search. A plan for sharing the scheme of a basic reference search has been developed within the Model Li- brary Program of Project Intrex, Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology. 0 The product has been named "Library Path- finder." BACKGROUND Among library users are many who could benefit from professional assist- ance in the use of the collections. Some of these users recognize their situation and ask for the help they require; oth- ers do not; and a few do not even recog- nize their need. Those who do ask for assistance have questions that can be di- vided quite easily into four groups: di- 0 The Model Library Program of Project lntrex is funded by the Council on Library Resources, Inc. I J j l rectional ('Where is the fiction collec- tion?"); ready reference ("What is the capital of Mali?"); search ('What lit- erary forgeries came to light in the 1940s?"); and library instruction ("Please show me how to gather a list of books, articles, reports, and theses on powder metallurgy."). The direction question is generally answered from the librarian's familiari- ty with the surroundings. The ready reference question can usually be an- swered from a single source, well-known to the professional librarian. Search questions-those involving a multiplici- ty of media and sources plus intricate tracing of faint clues-may yield only to persistent application of intuition and intelligence. Results are seldom shared beyond the requester; only rare- ly will a note appear in the literature documenting a search and its results. Questions that call for instructional answers are numerous and time-consum- ing for the librarian, but rewarding in the sense that, after the question is an- swered, the user is better able to respond to questions of the same type. However, the lasting utility of the instruction giv- en in answer to a question requiring the librarian to serve as teacher depends on several factors. Does the librarian relate well to the requester? Is there rapport and communication? Is the question skillfully stated and does the librarian have the insight to seek the real ques- tion behind the stated query? Does the librarian have or take the time to an- swer the question with the fullness that satisfies but does not bore or burden the user? Is the librarian on duty the best one on the staff to answer each of the questions he or she will be asked? Can the librarian be effective on a one-to-one instructional basis when the same ques- tions recur several times each day or each hour? If all of these questions re- ceive satisfactory answers at all times the library cannot be faulted for its skill in instructional reference work. Library Pathfinders I 41 These questions are tough ones and honest answers will reveal weaknesses in most libraries. Assuming weaknesses ex- ist, is there something that can be done to help the user who needs better in- structional service from the library? Li- brary Pathfinders can provide improved service for many users. WHAT IT IS The Library Pathfinder is a kind of map to the resources of the library; it is an information locator for the li- brary user whose search for recorded materials on a subject of interest is just beginning. A compact guide to the basic sources of information specific to the user's immediate needs, it is a step-by- step instructional tool that will, if fol- lowed, place before the user those items that the most skilled reference librarian would suggest as basic to an initial in- vestigation to the topic. WHAT IT Is NoT Each Pathfinder carries the legend, "Library Pathfinders-designed to help users begin to locate published informa- tion in specific fields-are prepared un- der a grant from the Council on Li- brary Resources. . . ." An easily over- looked but important word in this state- ment is "begin." Pathfinders are not guides to the literature in any exhaus- tive sense; they are not bibliographies; they are not primarily accessions tools. Specialists may find them pedestrian and some reference librarians would deem them simplistic and perhaps trivi- al for their purposes; but they are not designed to serve either the experienced scholar or the reference librarian. They are for beginners who seek instruction in gathering the fundamental literature of a field new to them in every respect. Pathfinders are designed to be useful for the initial stages of library research. PATHFINDER FORMAT AND CONTENT The Library Pathfinder format is 42 I College & Research Libraries • ] anuary 1973 fixed but flexible. In the upper right- hand corner, where it is easily seen in a notebook or a file, is the Pathfinder title. Below the title the arrangement is in two columns. Each entry includes call number and location information. Each Pathfinder begins with a "scope note," a phrase or two to delimit the topic and to insure that the user has a Pathfinder in the area of his interest. Notice of the location of beginner's introduction to the topic follows the scope note. The rationale for such an introduction is that the beginner's first need for the broad view and for an acquaintance with the terms and language of his top- ic. Sometimes this introduction is an en- try in .a standard or specialized encyclo- pedia; sometimes it is a book chapter or journal article. The introduction cita- tion includes sufficient information for the user to locate the specific sources; viz., the volume and page number in an encyclopedia or journal, the entry term if the page num her is not the best lead, and the chapter or range in a text. The following are examples of title, scope note, and introduction entry: GROUND WATER SEEPAGE SCOPE: Subsurface water move- ment through soil pores to the soil surface; includes ground wa- ter flow into surface water bodies and into earth structu!es. An introduction to this topic ap- pears in the McGraw-Hill Ency- clopedia of Science and Tech- nology (1971) v.12, pp.507-509 under the entry "Soil Mechanics- Seepage and Frost." Q121 .M147 1971 v.12 5th Floor Following the note on the location of an introductory article, the Pathfinder gives the user the necessary information for using the card catalog without frus- tration. The Pathfinder reads, ccBooks dealing with (topic) are listed in the subject card catalog. Look for the subjects . . ." and then lists those stan- dard Library of Congress subject head- ings that are in current use. This assures that the user will not unintentionally seek entries under words that are not used in the catalog and may not even appear on a "see" reference card. If en- tries are in more than one location in the card catalog, the user is led to each location and each subject heading is rated as either: "highly relevant," "also relevant," "related," or "more general." This distinction assists the reader who is beginning an exhaustive search as well as the one whose depth of inquiry is more limited. In some topic areas there are texts that are mentioned again and again; these may be classic old tomes or impor- tant new books. The next section of the Pathfinder lists from one to six of these frequently mentioned texts to place their names before the user early in his work. The citations are abbreviated bib- liographical entries including author, ti- tle, and date, and even page range or chapter( s) when such a limit is pos- sible, but omitting the publisher's name, the place of publication, and any de- scriptive notes. c'Where to browse" information comes next. The user is given the call numbers of the stack areas that should be mined if the user prefers this method of search. In practice it seems that more than one area is usually helpful and the call num- bers for each are given. Handbooks, encyclopedias, and ency- clopedic dictionaries that contain infor- mation of high utility in the subject are listed in the next section of the Path- finder. If numerical values or tables of importance are included they are men- tioned in the entry. In each case the rel- evant page numbers are given to speed the user's search. At this point the order of the entries follows the pattern that we believe will be most helpful to the user of the spe- cific Pathfinder. In science and engineer- ing the item that follows is a short list of bibliographies that contain citations to the literature of the topic. The Path- finder citation to a bibliography gives the name of the bibliography, its date, the extent of coverage in number of references when this can be easily de- termined, and/ or the pertinent page numbers. When a definitive or pertinent bibliography appears as part of a book, once again the relevant pages are given. Bibliographies are followed by in- dexes and abstracting journals. The Pathfinder reads, <